A writer must “know and have an ever-present consciousness that this world is a world of fools and rogues… tormented with envy, consumed with vanity; selfish, false, cruel, cursed with illusions… He should free himself of all doctrines, theories, etiquettes, politics…” —Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?). “The nobility of the writer's occupation lies in resisting oppression, thus in accepting isolation” —Albert Camus (1913-1960). “What are you gonna do” —Bertha Brown (1895-1987).

Monday, June 27, 2016

“The
decision by U.K. voters to leave the EU is such a glaring repudiation of
the wisdom and relevance of elite political and media institutions that —
for once — their failures have become a prominent part of the
storyline. Media reaction to the Brexit vote falls into two general
categories: (1) earnest, candid attempts to understand what motivated voters to
make this choice, even if that means indicting one’s own establishment circles,
and (2) petulant, self-serving, simple-minded attacks on disobedient pro-leave
voters for being primitive, xenophobic bigots (and stupid to boot), all to
evade any reckoning with their own responsibility. Virtually every reaction
that falls into the former category emphasizes the profound failures of Western
establishment factions; these institutions have spawned pervasive misery
and inequality, only to spew condescending scorn at their victims when
they object…

“[T]he West’s
establishment credibility is dying, and their influence is precipitously
eroding — all deservedly so. The frenetic pace of online media makes even the
most recent events feel distant, like ancient history. That, in
turn, makes it easy to lose sight of how many catastrophic and devastating
failures Western elites have produced in a remarkably short period of time.In
2003, U.S. and British elites joined together to advocate one of the most
heinous and immoral aggressive wars in decades: the destruction of Iraq;
that it turned out to be centrally based on falsehoods that were
ratified by the most trusted institutions, as well as a
complete policy failure even on its own terms, gutted public trust.

“In
2008, their economic worldview and unrestrained corruption precipitated a global
economic crisis that literally caused, and is still causing, billions of people
to suffer — in response, they quickly protected the plutocrats
who caused the crisis while leaving the victimized masses to cope with the
generational fallout. Even now, Western elites continue to proselytize markets
and impose free trade and globalization without the slightest concern
for the vast inequality and destruction of economic security those
policies generate.

“In
2011, NATO bombed Libya by pretending it was motivated by humanitarianism, only
to ignore that country once the fun military triumph was celebrated, thus
leaving a vacuum of anarchy and militia rule for years that spread instability
through the region and fueled the refugee crisis. The U.S. and its
European allies continue to invade, occupy, and bomb predominantly Muslim
countries while propping up their most brutal tyrants, then feign
befuddlement about why anyone would want to attack them back, justifying
erosions of basic liberties and more bombing campaigns and ratcheting up fear
levels each time someone does. The rise of ISIS and the foothold it seized
in Iraq and Libya were the direct byproducts of the West’s military actions (as even Tony Blair admitted regarding Iraq). Western societies
continue to divert massive resources into military weaponry and prisons for
their citizens, enriching the most powerful factions in the process, all while
imposing harsh austerity on already suffering masses. In sum,
Western elites thrive while everyone else loses hope.

“These
are not random, isolated mistakes. They are the byproduct of fundamental
cultural pathologies within Western elite circles — a deep rot. Why should
institutions that have repeatedly authored such travesties, and spread such
misery, continue to command respect and credibility? They shouldn’t, and
they’re not. As Chris Hayes warned in his 2012 book Twilight of the Elites,
‘Given both the scope and depth of this distrust [in elite institutions], it’s
clear that we’re in the midst of something far grander and more perilous than
just a crisis of government or a crisis of capitalism. We are in the midst of a
broad and devastating crisis of authority.’

“It’s
natural — and inevitable — that malignant figures will try to exploit this vacuum
of authority. All sorts of demagogues and extremists will try to re-direct mass
anger for their own ends. Revolts against corrupt elite institutions can usher
in reform and progress, but they can also create a space for the ugliest tribal
impulses: xenophobia, authoritarianism, racism, fascism. One sees all of that,
both good and bad, manifesting in the anti-establishment movements throughout
the U.S., Europe, and the U.K. — including Brexit. All of this can be
invigorating, or promising, or destabilizing, or dangerous: most likely a
combination of all that.

“The
solution is not to subserviently cling to corrupt elite institutions out of
fear of the alternatives. It is, instead, to help bury those institutions and
their elite mavens and then fight for superior replacements. As Hayes
put it in his book, the challenge is ‘directing the frustration, anger, and
alienation we all feel into building a trans-ideological coalition that can
actually dislodge the power of the post-meritocratic elite. One that marshals
insurrectionist sentiment without succumbing to nihilism and manic, paranoid
distrust.’

“Corrupt
elites always try to persuade people to continue to submit to their
dominance in exchange for protection from forces that are even worse. That’s
their game. But at some point, they themselves, and their prevailing order,
become so destructive, so deceitful, so toxic, that their victims are
willing to gamble that the alternatives will not be worse, or at least, they
decide to embrace the satisfaction of spitting in the faces of those who
have displayed nothing but contempt and condescension for them.

“There
is no one, unifying explanation for Brexit, or Trumpism, or the growing
extremism of various stripes throughout the West, but this sense of angry
impotence — an inability to see any option other than smashing those
responsible for their plight — is undoubtedly a major factor. As Bevins
put it, supporters of Trump, Brexit, and other anti-establishment movements ‘are
motivated not so much by whether they think the projects will actually work, but
more by their desire to say FUCK YOU’ to those they believe (with very good
reason) have failed them.

“Obviously,
those who are the target of this anti-establishment rage — political, economic,
and media elites — are desperate to exonerate themselves, to
demonstrate that they bear no responsibility for the suffering masses that
are now refusing to be compliant and silent. The easiest course to achieve
that goal is simply to demonize those with little power, wealth, or possibility
as stupid and racist: This is only happening because they are primitive
and ignorant and hateful, not because they have any legitimate grievances or
because I or my friends or my elite institutions have done anything wrong. As
Vice’s Michael Tracey put it:

“Because
that reaction is so self-protective and self-glorifying, many U.S. media elites
— including those who knew almost nothing about Brexit until 48 hours ago
— instantly adopted it as their preferred narrative for explaining what
happened, just as they’ve done with Trump, Corbyn, Sanders, and any number of
other instances where their entitlement to rule has been disregarded. They are
so persuaded of their own natural superiority that any factions who refuse to
see it and submit to it prove themselves, by definition, to be regressive,
stunted, and amoral.

“Indeed,
media reaction to the Brexit vote — filled with unreflective rage, condescension,
and contempt toward those who voted wrong — perfectly illustrates the dynamics
that caused all of this in the first place. Media elites, by virtue of
their position, adore the status quo. It rewards them, vests them with prestige
and position, welcomes them into exclusive circles, allows them to be
close to (if not themselves wielding) great power while traveling
their country and the world, provides them with a platform, fills them with
esteem and purpose. The same is true of academic elites, financial elites, and
political elites. Elites love the status quo that has given them, and then
protected, their elite position.

“Because
of how generally satisfied they are with their lot, they regard with
affection and respect the internationalist institutions that safeguard the
West’s prevailing order: the World Bank and IMF, NATO and the West’s military
forces, the Federal Reserve, Wall Street, the EU. While they express some
piecemeal criticisms of each, they literally cannot comprehend how anyone would
be fundamentally disillusioned by and angry with these institutions, let alone
want to break from them. They are far removed from the suffering that causes those anti-establishment sentiments. So they search and
search in vain for some rationale that could explain something like
Brexit, or the establishment-condemning movements on the right and left,
and can find only one way to process it: These people are not motivated by
any legitimate grievances or economic suffering, but instead they are just
broken, ungrateful, immoral, hateful, racist, and ignorant…”

Teacher/Poet/Musician

Copyrights & Fair Use: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of issues vital to a democracy. I believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law.

Persona

"I want everything to be explained to me or nothing. And reason is impotent when it hears this cry from the heart. The mind aroused by this insistence seeks and finds nothing but contradiction and nonsense" —Albert Camus (1913-1960).